


How Cruel is The Sea

by KisaTM



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow To Update, mermaid au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-09-12 00:09:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 20,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9046667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KisaTM/pseuds/KisaTM
Summary: Living in an underwater cave kingdom for most of his life, Kaneki dreams of seeing the sun. Unfortunately that means leaving his throne to his deceptive and power hungry advisor. When he breaches the foaming waves into the glittering light, no only does he meet the sun, but becomes entranced and captivated by his honey brown eyes.Alternatively:Hide meets a fish dude and he thinks that is awesome! ... Even if no one believes him...





	1. Prologue

The sun is a strange being, so warm and inviting, yet you cannot stare at it's beauty for long before going blind. This warm sphere of light, hangs over the world. Seeing the scars of the earth and yet still cannot illuminate every part. In these parts the shy moon hides. 

Reflecting the light of the sun to ever gain the courage to approach, but mostly remains in the dark. For this is where the moon knows best, for this is where the moon belongs. Though seen the sun within the shadow of the earth, the tiny rock yearns to fully meet the massive celestial being that illuminates the vast darkness in which it hides.


	2. Fairytale and Departure

Once upon a time there was a child that lived a life many would only dream of. Sitting upon the fabled throne of the King. His father said to be the greatest king that once live, had passed away leaving the full power to him and his advisor. Vast was his underground kingdom. Food was plentiful as they told him, yet never told him of it's origins. His people were happy, at least those he was allowed to see.

Everyone was polite and courteous to the young king. More so now, for in his youth other children he played with, had once made fun of his mismatched eyes. He doesn't remember or know what happened to them after, but his mother had a mask made to hide what he had learned was more or less a disfigurement. He still remembers the words though, and by the way the other children had avoided him even after having his face covered, solidified in his heart that his disfigurement made him an ugly monster. This had made him shy away form his people and he'd rarely if at all speak.

One day his father fallen incredibly ill. The prince was only four at the time, when the man drew his last breath. The court had weeped heavily that day, even though he couldn't understand what had took place. His mother grieved the most, and regularly would punish her son claiming it as a curse of a disfigured and lame child. She sent him to be punished not only by her own hand, but to a person he was forced to call his 'uncle'.

Uncle was a wall of muscle and pent up rage. He took joy in whenever the prince would visit, even though he was instructed not to kill the child king. Over and over, he hurt the child, taking delight in the cries and wails he made. Cutting off limbs, watching them grow back deformed and unnatural. The stress killing all of the child's dark pigment, till only pure white remained. The real fun started, when the prince's mother also fell ill and passed on. Uncle started to use methods that not only re broke his shattered sense of self, but his self worth.

See, the prince was left hurt, confused, and unsure of who he was. Splitting himself into multiples. He became a man that wished to be a housewife and raise many children. He became a shy bookworm who's innocence knew no bounds. He became a vessel of revenge and brutal anger, yet was still a child at heart. Finally he also became a monstrous creature, who could not tell the difference between murder and play. These four created the king that would eventually reigned over the deep.

As for the uncle, the prince's 'corrector', he was found dead after the child had snapped one final time and fought back. This king claims not knowing how the man died.

"I'm going to the surface." the young king said, his quiet voice even more muffled by his leather mask. He stood with his cloak and crown looking out upon the lights of the sea cave. Hovels and shelters made of garbage, the difference of his 'castle' being it was larger. So was the life of his people, content and unbothered by the filth on which they've conquered. The young king never enjoyed this, for some reason he believed there was more, there was better out there. Even though he was raised in knowing nothing else on the matter.

"The surface?" The sea green woman laughed. She was bearly dressed as usual, with only medical bandages covering her body. Although her looks deceive many, she is almost a decade older than her king. "I remember telling you years ago that it wasn't worth it. There is nothing above, and there will never be."

"Yes, but I remember years before you said I one day will see..." He sighed. He turned to her. "Regardless, my decision is finite. You will not move me from it."

"Then... Dear boy." She smiled and pointed to his crown. "You leave that here, and if you are to ever return, you may never leave again. You sweet uncle is no longer here to stop you, neither is your mother, though your rights as the king will become forfeit if you are certain and remain above ground."

"Is this a test on my loyalty to my kind?" The king asked holding his crown in his scaled three clawed hands. "Somehow a punishment on my hopes and dreams for us?"

"No, dear child." She laughs at him and snatching the glass jeweled metal. She placed it on her head with a smirk. "As your advisor, I will need to have full power over this kingdom of yours. If you so wish to go play like a small child and drown in that sea, I cannot stop you. But, your crown I will keep warm, as well as your throne. When you return you may reclaim your place, but this is where you will remain until you fall as your parents once had."

"The curse I gave them upon my birth isn't claim to the same fate I will endure." The young king rolled his eyes. "I can swim, and I'd swim in that vast sea until I've returned from the rocky cave I have crawled out of if I have too. If there is truly nothing out there for me to see that is. Though, the day that I do return, I will bring the knowlage and the freedom to the rest of us."

"Beware, monsters that look like us from above." The woman sighed. "There is a reason we hidden so long. You share the same goals as I, but not the same knowlage. This adventure of yours will only end in tragedy."

"Then a tragedy it will be." He agreed with the she devil.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, yeah, I have another fanfiction for you! Just another of the millions of little things I have to do for 2017 now. But, damn I wanted to write something "fishy". :P  
> In all seriousness don't expect this to be regularly updated, since I need to wrap up Rock-a-Bye and Devil Worshiper soon. This story is basically an AU that has been swimming in my brain since October (and sitting on my desktop since October...). Enjoy though!


	3. Down by the Sea...

Hideyoshi Nagachika, or Hide for short, was a happy young man. So happy that people compared him to sunflowers. Just seeing him would bring joy to a person's heart. An overwhelming sense of love and positivity would overcome you when you witnessed his smile. Even when he was sad, somehow his presence would result in a feeling of happiness.

Though his only flaw, would be his fear of the sea. It wasn't some sod story of him losing his parents or a lover to the salty waves. No, his fear comes from almost drowning when he was six and a half.

His older brothers took him to the bay and told him about a story of a monster that would drag children to an underwater cavern, and devour them. Being the kid he was, he foolishly said that the monster probably was just lonely and wanted a friend. He believed that this fabled monster just didn't know humans couldn't breathe in it's home.

Once Hide followed his brothers into the water, one pretended to drown. Having been "caught" by the "monster". Hide wasn't the strongest swimmer at that age and ran through the heavy waves to save his "drowning" brother. His brother then started to laugh at him, kicking off the kelp that he was pretending was the monster. Angry, six year old Hide pushed him and started to swim out to a deeper part of the private bay, ignoring his older brothers' calls not to.

At this point his leg got wrapped up by kelp and he began struggling to pull it off. Well he did this, a rush of bubbles began to surround him. The kelp pulled him down and he could barely hear the cries of his brothers, as the sunlight faded more and more into watery black. The darkness engulfed him, and suddenly he awoke with a gasp. Only vaguely remembering the blood red gaze of the deep.

Ever since that day he was scared of the bay cove his brothers' saved him from. His family agreeing never to go near any longer. They moved more inland, save for Hide's grandmother, who stayed in the old beach house that jetted halfway into the bay.

 

 

* * *

 

 

"You can do this Hide..." The young man sighed as he got out of his rusted ford. The car had a name, but that had been lost to years of being beaten with winter road salt and a shoddy re-painting job done at least a decade before he was even born.

His family liked to call it the 'cheesy car' because of the bright orange colours and because for some reason you'd always find at least one cheeto or two that had wiggled it's way out from between the seat cushions. No matter how many times it was cleaned.

The old car would wheeze and wine when someone got in, and it would do the same when trying to start it. Sometimes it took more than a minute of turn over, before it would actually start. It seemed to hate everyone, but not it's owner... Well, he'd call it a small disagreement, as if the vehicle was a small child. Whatever the case, the car was a wonder that it kept running.

The weather worn wood screen door of the beach house, groaned on it's hinges. Dust hanging heavily in the air as it floated around the sheets preventing it from settling on desired objects. With a extra huff of dust, when a deep green leather tote bag landed on the creaky floor boards and dust eaten runner.

"Lights... Lights..." The young man searched for a light switch to brighten the dimly lit hall. Flicking on and off the only switches he could find he let out an irritated sigh as the power did not reach the cobwebbed bulbs. He picked up his bag once more and moved deeper into the old house. "Why did Nan, have to leave me of all people, this old shack?"

On the sheet covered dinning table, he found a note, written in the delicate handwriting his grandmother was known for.

 

_Dear, Hide_

_I know this is a big change and you have fled the sea you once trusted, but you cannot hide-away from your fears forever. One day the sea will draw you in again, be it good, or bad. Ever since great-great-great grandfather had fallen for her, our family had been here._

_And don't grumble about one of your siblings taking this inheritance, instead of you. You know this house has been passed down to the youngest living descendant. You come from a long line of fishermen, do them good and follow tradition for once in your life._

_You do not need to swim in the sea, but if you wish, your grandfather's old fishing boat is still in good shape. The bay is full of fish most of the year and the local market is still strong. If you're willing to do some work, you can sell what you catch there. Maybe you'll pull up treasure?_

_Love you always, grandma._

 

"Scolding me even after the fact..." Hide shook his head and folded the paper. "I still wish you didn't pass on before I got nephews and nieces..."


	4. Where the watermelons grow

Giving up his cloak and crown, the suspended king swam away from his kingdom's bioluminescence. He took little, he wasn't one for sentiment over anything grand or gifted to him. Though he took the one thing the she devil that defiled the royal throne, would need to make true claim over his father's people. 

A decorative golden heart tied to a thin golden chain. Only those chosen to be the true ruler, know of this item. He hid it among the shells and shiny objects that often adorned his waist. So it wasn't noticed as he left the wreckage that was his now ex home.

He soon reached the one part of the cave he for his entire life was warned to stay away from. The current of the water in this area would suck things down from the surface into the kingdom, and trapping his people that could not swim strong enough in. The danger was possibly getting hit by something sharp or heavy enough that could get those stupid enough to swim against the current to slam into the sharp stalagmites and stalactites, that lined the cave entrance. More than likely impaling the swimmer on these rocks, resulting in either an instant or slow death.

Adolescents were the common victims of the current. Despite the dangers of the area, lots of interesting things would be brought by the current. The adults were smart enough to only collect what the water placed a safe distance away from the entrance. But, the young were never as patient, and would tempt their lives with the tunnel. Many of their rotting corpses and bones could be seen hung up on the rocks. Being eaten by scavengers.

As far as Kaneki knew, no one in at least four or five generations had been able to fully swim out of the tunneling cave. The current always proving too much for their tails to fight against and they'd be brought right back.

Looking at the darkness without the extra aid of the bio-illuminated plants and other fish that was so common back in the kingdom, the stalagmites and stalactites, looked like the teeth of some gigantic sea monster. His own reddish pink light that faintly lighted the rocks and dead that lay about, didn't help much to soothe his apprehension for the area.

Flaring his gills to filter out his nervousness and assure himself that his choice was right, Kaneki started kicking his tail as hard as he could. The water pushed against his scales in a desperate plea, that he did not leave, but he ignored it's demands. Even when it felt like his whole body was being ripped from his bones, he continued to fight against the deadly current. He dodged and weaved past the sharp rocks that had stolen the lives of many, as well as the items that had loosened themselves to stop him.

Soon as he began to feel as if his tail was going to fall off in his struggle, he could see a pale white light. He pushed himself more, he just had too. He wanted to meet the sun, a fairytale to most, but he believed the pale light held the truth he was after.

The rocks quickly turned to plants and the water stopped resisting his commands. The force he was swimming at had caught up with him, and he suddenly broke the surface. His entire body was engulfed by the pale light of the surface. The white round god, staring at him from above. Time began to slow as he fell back into the salty water, he could feel every beat of his heart, as he fell in love with the surreal scene.

Once he was swallowed by the surf, he awoke from his stunned state. He shook his head to regather his scrambled thoughts. The beauty of what he just beholden had replaced all of this thoughts in that instance. Now he had a chance to think upon what else that happened in that moment.

One, the water had become immediately so thin at an instant, it was if he lived his life in brine. Well, a brine that was ten times more thick. Two the water above him was cooler than where he was and felt strange, like the inside of a bubble strange. Three swimming that fast almost made his heart explode and he hoped to never do that again.

After he regained himself he swam lazily back to the surface and laid on his back to mindlessly watch the beautiful pale sun. His pectoral fins making sure the waves didn't swallow him again. This thinner water was harder for him to fill his lungs with by using his gills and he found himself taking it in through his nose to be the most comfortable, where it would sting normally under the surf.

Slowly he closed his eyes and started to dream of nothing, but his sun.


	5. Back to my home

"And I raaaaan,

I raaan so faaar awaaaay,

I raan all niiight,

Aaand daaay!

I couldn't get away!"

 

The sound of music could be heard on the outside of his white and orange headphones, as he riffled through the old shed that was right beside the old boat house. Hide was looking for a Jerrycan to use to get some gas for the main house's generator.

Not the most ecofriendly of things, but everyone who owned the house rarely if at all needed electricity. The weather was always warm and the actual wiring in the house was pretty new, since his grandfather had it renovated when he and Hide's grandmother had moved in. So despite the weathered look, the house had been modernized for at least sixty-two years. But, even then the only power needed was for the lights, water heater, and refrigerator.

His grandparents were not into the technological age which had the world now in a chokehold. They believed that people were becoming to reliant on screens and other electronics to keep themselves entertained, that they were losing touch with the joys real life could provide them. It was also the reason that all the phones were confiscated during the holidays in Hide's house where he grew up.

It was a big deal to his grandmother and parents that the family actually engaged with each other. Rather than staring at a phone screen, unaware of those around you. Although that rule slowly faded as his grandmother was moved to hospital for the last three years, and his five older siblings moved out and into professions where they need their phones constantly for business reasons.

When his grandmother had passed away, his family all but had forgotten the reasons why that rule was even a thing.

 

"Reached out a hand to touch your face

You're slowly disappearing from my viieew

Disappearing from my viieeew

  
Reached out a hand to try again

I'm floating in a beam of light with yoou

A beam of light with yoooou

  
And I raaan..."

 

"Jerry, old man!" Hide exclaimed holding the red plastic gas container, his headphones falling to his shoulders. "I require your services! To night we see if that old water heater still has a kick left in her!"

Stepping out of the shed, Hide apparently startled a gull that decided the launch was a good resting spot. It screeched in annoyance, before flying off toward the setting horizon... But, not before leaving a "gift" on the hood of his rusted out car.

"Well, fuck you too, buddy." Hide sighed clicking off his walkman, tossing it and the empty Jerry can onto the passenger seat. He popped open the glove box and took out some old napkins from fast food past, and found a spray bottle in the back pockets of the seat cover.

After whipping off the gull's gift, he tossed the soiled napkins and put the spray back. The cheesy car looked poor enough, he didn't want people thinking it was actually as dirty as the rust made it look.

"Okay, old girl... Start for daddy now!" Hide said to the car as he turned the keys. At first it sputtered and argued in the way it was known for. But, soon it gave in.

 

"I like big butts and I can not lie

You other brothers can't deny

That when a girl walks in with an itty bitty waist

And a round thing in your face-"

 

"Shit!" Hide jumped quickly popping a tape out of the tape deck. Since his sister's fiancée had busted the volume dial last summer, the cheesy car had only one level; ear-bleeding loud. She had apologised greatly after that.

Once he was sure nothing else was going to catch him off guard, he slammed his car door and made sure it was shut before driving towards town.

* * *

 

Shell Cove, it was a small seaside town, practically a village. There was only one gas station with two pumps, one of which didn't work anymore and the only working one had "gas only" spray painted on the side. Not a place for people who favored diesel.

The convenience store obviously seen better days, and doubled as the main grocery store, aside from the public market that would be open till 2 pm. From the market there was all kinds of things sold. Shells and rocks from the beaches, local produce, and fish caught the day before, were the main things sold. There was also a small pub overlooking the cliff side by the water front.

That was all that was significant about the town. The rest was a few sparse homes and the forgotten population ticker on the sign on the town outskirt, was the only other thing that could be said about it. Most people had moved onto larger places that had harbors that accommodates larger and more commercial fishing boats. Those that stayed where retired or only lived there part-time as their summer home.

The only plus, Hide thought of the town, was the lack of police that might pull him over for a fix-it ticket or try to impound his car. As far as he could remember there was a single constable stationed there, but was pretty much not needed for the most part.

Hide pulled up his car to the old gas station. He grabbed the gas can and began filling it up, watching the yellowed ticker turn up forty dollars more. Screwing the cap back on, and placing the can in the back seat, he took out his wallet as he walked to the convenience store. He picked up a bag of dill pickle chips as he got to the till.

"How much?" The bored teenager asked him from behind the counter.

"I think it has 36 grams worth, but I know it's mostly just air." Hide said studying the bag.

"I mean for the gas, sir." The teen obviously wasn't in the mood for jokes. Obviously they wanted to close early, or they were feeling the withdrawal of decent phone signal.

"Oh, uh, forty." Hide continued to smile, despite the kid's attitude.

"That'll be forty-one fifty, sir." The teen said dully and Hide handed them a fifty. The teen typed into the aged teller and gave him his change.

"Thanks, have a goodnight!" Hide said after getting his change back.

"Yep..." The teen just snapped the bubble gum they were chewing and went back to the magazine they've stolen from the rack by the teller.

* * *

 

It was dark by the time Hide got back to the bay. The moon assisted a bit with the cheesy car's single light, as he drove the over grown and sandy side road. Even though it was fenced by barbed wire, there wasn't much to stop you if you went off road. The other side just had trees that dared grow on the incline, most holding on with half exposed, but strong, roots.

He pulled into the equally sandy drive way out side of the house and took out his full plastic gas can. Taking a few breaths, and reminding himself the deck only jetted out into five feet of water at high tide, he walked out to the house's generator.

"Splash!" A deep heavy splash from the sea, startled him and he almost dropped the gas.

"The fuck!" Hide's heart raced as he looked out towards the open water. It was calm, aside from the tiny waves that made the large moon's light twinkle. There wasn't any signs of anything living that would be large enough to make a sound like that. So he assumed that the cliff a few meters away had just shed a bolder into the sea. "Good, maybe that stupid rock will collapse and dam this pace off into just tide pools..."

He turned back to what he was doing and finished filling the gas tank. He grabbed the generator's cord and pulled it a few times to get it running. He mentally cheered as he left the deck, to wait for the water heater to warm up. Glad that soon he'd get the smell of gas and oil off him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, technically double update, since I'm feeling inspired (can't sleep). I also thought to share Hide's riveting adventure to the local gas station! 
> 
> Yes he owns a walkman, I wanted to give him a portable cassette player, but he's only in his 20's in this AU and it's in modern times as well. He's not that retro!


	6. I dare not go

He didn't know what had happened, but the sun had disappeared. His nap well basking in it's light, had gave it the chance to escape. Now once where the pale white being once loomed, was an extremely bright and frankly annoying yellow being. Kaneki would admit that it was warmer than the sun, but it still concerned him on why this whatever replaced his beautiful sun.

He decided he didn't like this new warmer light. It had scared off what he dreamed of meeting as a child. Especially before he could approach the pale being and ask it the million questions he had saved for it. With this new light, it hurt to gaze on it for any amount of time and stole away his site, replacing it with just an empty whiteness. To show his offence, Kaneki turned away and refused to give the needy and annoying being anymore attention.

With his new conviction he dove back into the water he was most familiar with. Kaneki then decided to explore the area a bit. The ocean is a vast place, given the stories his advisor constantly warned him about. But, you had to start small if you want to eventually rule over the whole.

As he was thinking of his new ambitious goals of rivaling Poseidon himself on claims of the seas, his stomach reminded him of a more pressing issue. Food. He was hungry, and without servants to serve his biological desires, he quickly was taken back by how a pampered life had greatly disadvantaged him in this new world. How could he take on Poseidon's charge if, he didn't exactly know how to get or even find food?

"I should of had Tsukiyama teach me how one is to hunt..." Kaneki thought aloud as he scanned the sandy bottom.

He kind of remembered from his youth, other children taking clams, oysters, and scallops, from the ground and breaking them open with their teeth. He never did this himself, an adult would always hand him opened shells if he desired the soft meat for a light snack.

* * *

 

His search was proving fruitless, and his stomach wasn't too happy over this fact. Growling in frustration he swished his tail at the thick kelp forest, as he sharply turned and headed to the surface once more.

"A castle? Here?" Kaneki questioned to no one, as he saw a structure of wood just peeking out from behind and outcropping of rock. He swam towards it. It seemed to be made completely out of wood, but unlike his previous palace, wasn't scattered into the sides of the rocky walls. It stood out above the waves of his water, only long half-algae covered poles keeping it suspended in the thin surface water.

As he investigated the wooden poles, he found that a group of black shells attached near their bottoms.

"Food!" Kaneki cheered with glee struggling to pull one off. "What a plentiful garden!"

He put the black shell between his sharp teeth and bit down hard. The shell cracked and released a foul tasting ooze into his mouth, causing him to spit it out in disgust. Disgruntled by the experience, but not swayed, he pulled another. When faced by the same result, he took out his rage by smacking the group of rotten shells with his tail.

The force braking the wooden support, which attempted to retaliate by falling on him. Luckily though it missed his head and just scrapped his right shoulder.

"Tsk!" Now he's hungry and who's ever castle this was, had attacked him. Once he finds the owner they will pay... In food, it's the least they could do for having such an offensive garden and violent home.

Kaneki dug his claws into a wood pole and pulled himself up slowly to the edge of the disrespectful castle. He grumbled angrily that he was too heavy that he kept sinking in the thin water and swore he'd eat the owner, if they turn out to be one of those lighter jellyfish assholes.

During his personal rant of all that was wrong with this world, and pulling himself up, he slowly looked up ahead... He met face to face with a creature with large brown eyes, blond hair, and very light brown dots speckling it's face. Both it and he screamed in surprise, causing him to let go of the wood railing and fall right back down with a huge splash.

Dazed, he thought he heard something slamming shut as some kind of white liquid poured out of the castle's underside. It smelled awful, worse than the clams he tried to eat. Whatever that beast was, it was gone when Kaneki swam out far enough to see over the rail he fell off.

The shock had made him forget that he was angry over the creature's apparent home's offences. Reflecting back he was stealing from the creature like some ungrateful eel, and it was sort of his fault for letting his frustration get to him.

Feeling chest-fallen, he made his final decision for that day was to stay near that poor creature's den, and make it up to it for his un-royal like behavior.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I realize I tend to do the opposite of what I say in my tags...


	7. For if I do

The day was going great. The sun peered through Hide's window, waking him up from his first night officially in the weathered house. He threw on some freshly washed clothing, he dug out of the dryer, pleased that it wasn't too loud for running at night. Heck, he even found a kettle he could use to help make him tea!

He decided that day he'd fix things up around the yard. Now that he wasn't driving 20 miles in the cheesy car from the closest town, it gave him more time to restore what he could of the old house.

After having a bit to eat, the first place he headed was the boat house that also doubled as an extra shed. The metal shed outside of the boat house he had already cleared and organized when he was looking for the Jerry can, yesterday evening. The boathouse was a different monster, altogether.

His late grandfather's row boat was held suspended by the roof and covered in a sheet. The old man never owned a car, but had built this "water garage" after he had retired from commercial fishing. The name Timmy was painted on the side of the row boat that the sheet left exposed after someone forgot to replace it, the last time the boat was disturbed.

The rest of the boat house just had random fishing equipment laying about. Some of it was rusted or rotted through, which would have to be removed. After he had finshed cleaning up what he could, Hide decided to take the white paint he had brought to the beach house last week and put it to use.

It was almost one in the afternoon, but he was able to scrape off the old paint on the side of the house that faced the sea. He began putting on the first coat, glad that soon the old sand shack wouldn't look so ragged anymore. He just hoped that it start to rain or anything before he could put on the second coat.

* * *

 

 

So why was he currently hiding in his kitchen and holding a skillet, you may ask? Well, the answer is simple. There was a fucking sea monster that just tried to climb onto his deck!

Hideyoshi Nagachika, age 22, he was not the top of his class or the best when it came to making rational decisions, had just witnessed the fright of his life and it possibly wants to eat him too!

He had a nice life in the city. Sure he was forced to still live with his parents in the basement, the poor job market meant he was hopelessly unemployed and he was a failure at selling his art online. But, at least his biggest worry would have been his mother comming home after satisfying her alcoholic thirst and telling him he was a failure. Not a five hundred pound fish person attempting to scale the deck's railing, with nothing but murder in it's eyes!

Hide outwardly cursed himself for leaving his phone out on the deck. In his panic he tripped over the paint can he was using and ran straight for the house to find something to defend himself with. So with caution he tipped-toed back out with his skillet, to quickly retrieve the lost phone, before that thing could jump out from around a corner and kill him.

"Hello? What's your emergency?" Shell Cove's resident constable, Banjou, answered.

"Thank god! Banjou! A-a thing... Somet-thing, just tried to hop my fucking railing!" Hide said still shaken.

"Who... Oh, you're that new guy that just moved into town." Banjou replied. "Look kid, I'm quite busy. If this is a prank I-"

"No, no, Banjou, I'm serious!" Hide said franticly. "It had the top half of a person, a-and this fucking massive fish tail! It had to be as big... No twice as big as Amon, at least!"

"So you're calling me, to tell me a mermaid just tried to hop onto your deck, that is at least ten feet tall at low tide?" Banjou sighed and Hide confirmed. "Look, son. Have you gotten around to painting that rickety old house of yours?"

"Yeah, I was just out painting before it-"

"There could be your problem." Banjou cut him off. "Get some good fresh air in you, clean your lungs and head of the fumes you were inhaling and call me when there is an actual emergency. Leave the fish stories to your bud Amon and that tender, Akira, at the pub."

"But I-"

"Yo! Banjou, you gotta check this out!" An unknown voice could be heard on the other side of the phone.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm comming. That new kid, hide*, I think his name is, is just having a hallucination." Banjou could be heard saying back to the unknown person. "Look, I have to go. Don't go overboard on the paint fumes, I don't want to find your ass washed up on the beach, because you did something stupid well high. Understand Mr. Nagachika?"

"I... Yeah, I understand." Hide sighed defeated. "Goodbye, officer Banjou... Sorry for bothering you..."

He folded his phone and set it on the kitchen table right by is skillet. Of course he could have just seen things because he was breathing in paint fumes. But, it seemed so real.

The creature was just inches from his face when he had turned around. It's skin was pale with faint pinkish scales dusting around it's head and shoulders. A green-brown thick fishnet covered it's torso and had random bits of garbage tied into it. It had sharp, nasty looking webbed claws and a massive red and purple tail. It's eyes where a stormy gray, and hair pure white as snow. Finally it's screech was terrifying.

"Fucking hell, if that is that real for me just from paint... I'm definitely am not going to go experiment anytime soon." He shook his head. "I might be teleported to a dimension full of cannibalistic tentacle monsters or some shit..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Banjou called Hide: "hīd", not "he-day". Also I think Kaneki would be offended if he heard Hide call him a 500 pound sea monster... He's only 450!


	8. My mother would say

The castle was larger than he originally thought, to the south of the main part was another lavish den. This one he didn't need to climb as much to get inside.

The sandy floor under his waters, had a few creatures he found he could eat. A few urchins, a couple of crabs, and a few fish that had trapped themselves. Though it was enough to cull his hunger for the moment he knew he'd need more.

This smaller castle looked unoccupied, and he assumed it was abandoned since the scent of anything big enough to chase him away, was brief and faded. Obviously the creature that claimed the larger structure had passed through here, but took no interest. So he thought, at least for now, he'd live there until he had apologised to the creature he so rudely stole from.

Kaneki pulled himself up onto the flat wooden floor, noting the thin water had a slightly warmer feel and didn't move as much. There was a wooden thing suspended above where his waters entered the den. There were also a collection of shiny trinkets and items that had already decorated the place. Though more organized, as if who ever lived there before, wasn't too keen on showing off what they had collected.

Swinging his tail into the thin water and onto the wood floor, he realized it was going to be difficult for him to swim in this part of the ocean. He was simply too heavy, even his swim bladder couldn't make him buoyant enough to navigate the current the thin water had. Pondering this problem, he tapped his pelvic fins against the floor.

That was it. He could move not very quickly, but effectively, if he dragged his tail using his pectoral and pelvic fins! Just like he did when he was little and wedged himself into a tiny rock cave to escape punishments. Here, it would just be a little more work, without the full use of his tail.

Now that riddle of how to live in the thin water den was solved, he could properly arrange the place, so it best suited him. With the added entrance to his waters, he could also use the den to trap bigger and better fish for food. He mentally patted himself on the back for figuring this all out without his advisor. Davy Jones' Locker, she probably just nag on about some stupid legend on why it's not wise to even go near these castles in the first place.

* * *

 

 

After eating some really good fish he managed to catch and stored extra around his new temporary home, the annoying bright light started to lower itself into his waters. He almost wanted to chase after it so it wouldn't come back, but it looked so far away from where the castles were. That also meant it was very big, and he didn't know if it would try to eat him or not. He just hoped that once it was gone, the sun would be back.

"If only I wasn't so heavy..." Kaneki whined to himself and looked at his tail that made up most of his body. He was laying in netting that normally made up the resting places of his previous palace. He was surprised that whoever that lived there before had an abundance of the material, that was rarely pulled into the kingdom he left. Obviously these were dens of royals like him.

A creaking noise from the den, snapped him out of his thoughts. He looked over towards the sound.

"The hell happened in here?!" The creature he scared earlier had entered. It surprised him more that it could talk, than that it had entered, without invite. He watched the creature put something down, was it using the abandoned castle as a place to put extra decorations? Once the creature noticed him staring from where it was, it slammed it's body against one of the wooden walls and grabbed at it's chest. "Oh, god! I wasn't hallucinating! Am I? Fuck, fuck, fuck! Shit, nope, this can't be real!"

"You have a strange way of greeting people." Kaneki said looking at the panicking creature. "Tell me, how did you learn my voice? I've never seen a fish like you before."

"Aaand it can talk!" The creature said out load. "Hide you really shouldn't be taking drugs now..."

"I see." Kaneki sighed. It knew his voice, but not how to properly use them to converse. It's vocalizations where nothing more than just that, sounds. He flicked his tail as he thought of what to do. He looked over to a hollow shell he put a few extra fish in for when he got hungry again. "Well, um... You want some food?"

"..." The creature studied him for a second as he held out one of the dead fish with his pectoral fin. It must have not understood him very well, but it approached after grabbing a pole that was resting beside it. "W-what are you? Why are you here?"

"Food." Kaneki repeated still presenting the fish. He leaned closer, but didn't really want to leave where he was sitting. He just got comfortable. "Eat, food."

"Uh, no... No thanks." The creature used the pole to push the fish away. It seemed suprised that it did that as well. "You were talking good before... Do you even understand what I'm saying?"

"Neptune's breath! You can read my thoughts?!" Kaneki said in disbelief. "You're not as stupid as I thought... S-sorry, that was mean... Oh, you probably... Uh... S-should I talk or, or are you just reading me? I apologise in advance if I think of anything that is offencive to you!"

"N-no, I... I can't do that." The creature responded. "Is that a common thing for mermaids to do?"

"Mer... Maid?" Kaneki looked at the creature in confusion. He had heard that word from an old bed story his mother told him... Before she realized he was a curse on the family.

A being that looked and acted like his people, but was female and wished to do this thing called walking on land for another she loved. But, she had to give up her voice to go there and when the male she was after didn't return her affection she turned to foam. Kaneki had no desire to do this walking thing on where ever this place called land was, he was also a hundred percent sure that he was fully male.

"Y-yeah, you got the fish tail and everything!" The creature nodded and poked his tail's tunk with the pole. "Though, I didn't think your arms and ears would... Uh, be as fishy..."

"Hm?" Kaneki looked at his pectorals, yeah they didn't grow back properly. Like the creature that he was now talking with, he should have the same fins, but after having them repeatedly bitten off as punishments, they covered themselves in tough scales and sharp claws made of bone had grew at the ends of where his webbing was. They helped him grab things and the adaptation made it easier to fight of those that wanted to hurt him. "Yes, if I wasn't such a disobedient or lame child, mother wouldn't have condemned me to have them. You can only regrow fins perfectly for so long before they do it wrong... But I don't need to worry about that now... Now answer my questions, what type of fish are you, if I'm a so called mermaid."

"Well, I'm, I'm a human." The creature said giving him a strange look. "And, I'm not a fish. Fish... Well normal fish, can't live on land. Haven't you heard of us before. I mean you're wearing bits of our garbage..."

"Garbage?!" Kaneki looked down at his garments. It was made from a thicker version of the netting that was used in his kingdom. The rarest of rare items that fell from the current, adorned his body. This creature... Human, just called it garbage. Back home he'd be complimented... "S-so, this is... Garbage? Humans throw this away? B-but, I've... We've... I was told my whole life these were blessings from Poseidon's waters! How could they be garbage!"

"W-whoa, dude, stop freaking out." The human said to him as he pulled the netting off. "I didn't know... Wow, you're ripped!"

"Human! Tell me where you get your coverings!" Kaneki demanded tossing the garbage he was once wearing. "It's not proper for one of royalty to be bare."

"Uh, Uniqlo's..." The human said.

"Take me to this Uniqlo's at once!" Kaneki flipped over to move to this Uniqlo place. "... Excuse my posture, this thin water is extremely hard for me to swim in... I must move along the seafloor until I figure how to swim properly here."

"Ah, no, Uniqlo is a clothing store." The human said. "Way too far inland for me to drive a fish-man to, at eight in the evening."

"So this Inland place where Uniqlo is, it's a long journey?" Kaneki sighed. "I don't think I could drag myself too far from my waters right now. It would be faster to swim I assume? Tell me human how do you swim in such thin water?"

"Thin... Water?" The human looked confused at his question. "You mean air? I don't swim, I walk. On land. What you're laying on, land."

"Walk... on land. So land isn't just a myth story..." Kaneki thought and looked at the floor where his pelvic fins were. "This is land... Human! Such magic you speak of, I only hear in stories! Do you by chance know the being called Sun? Something had scared it off earlier, I hoped now that thing left, this Sun would return."

"The sun? It just set, surely you saw it today." The human said. "It was sunny all day and when you tired to get on my deck."

"No, that isn't it." Kaneki crossed his pectoral fins. "The sun is large and pale. That thing that was swimming around in the thin... I mean, air, had scared the sun off and I am hoping the sun would return now."

"Large and pale... You mean the moon?" The human asked. "Yeah, the moon should be out by now, but it wasn't scared away by the sun... The sun makes the day and the moon is normally out at night... Surely you've seen that a million times."

"No, I've hadn't been here before." Kaneki flipped back onto the nets he was sitting on before. "I'm sorry human, I have much to think about... My bareness is also making me feel uncomfortable, please leave me to rest on this. I'll find myself decent at speak more at your castle once I do..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sleepy, good-day!


	9. Lock the house, before you leave

Hide couldn't sleep at all last night. He tossed and turned. Uncomfortable no matter how he laid down. After a few hours of unrest the light shades of blue started to melt quickly into the blackness of night. Causing him to sigh and give up on getting some sleep.

He went downstairs after throwing something on. Although he didn't sleep, he felt tired and lazy, as if he just woken up. He walked into his kitchen and glared at the appliances. Yeah, today, he wasn't going to cook for himself. He glanced at the clock on the wall, it was a bit past eight.

"I wonder if Akira does breakfast?" He said out loud grabbing his keys and headed towards the door. Outside he briefly thought to check the boathouse, but decided against it. If he was just going crazy do to his fears of the bay he was trapped to live by for the rest of his life, than there was nothing to be seen in the boathouse, but dirty old fishing equipment and a rowboat named Jimmy. If this wasn't the case, well he was too stressed to deal with "that" right at the moment.

He got the cheesy car running, and made his way to Shell Cove. Possibly to get some advice, along with a meal.

* * *

 

 

"... And the sea wench, stole the cap'n into the depths, ner' to be seen again!" Amon, the regular at the pub said finishing his story. He was sixty seven years young and had a lifetime that knew nothing, but the open ocean. He once worked as a whaler in his early days, but turned to net fishing for herring later. An accident out at sea had left him with an eye patch and a pegged leg, but it was his back that forced him to spend most of his days in Shell Cove's local Pub. Usually sharing drunken fisherman tales that may or may not be true.

"Here you go, dear." Akira, the barmaid and owner of the pub placed the meal of Canadian bacon, eggs, and pancakes, before Hide. Her family, too, had been in and around Shell Cove for almost a century. She claims the town has a certian charm to it, that keeps her there and with Amon there, she has enough to keep the lights running at least in the pub. Her lover was apparently some young CEO in the city, but he rarely would come down, she normally would make the trip to go see him.

"Thank you." Hide said pouring some syrup onto his pancakes, before cutting a bit of the bacon and egg, to eat with the pancake. "It's really good!"

"Awe, no need to mention it." Akira smiled. "I'm just happy someone's here to keep o'Amon entertained. Sometimes it's good to have a new ear for his stories. Now, I'll be in back doing a little inventory. Don't let him talk your ear off."

"Lass, I'm not just tell'n the boy fairy tales!" Amon declared. "These are real life lessons, that might save him one day from the briny depths of Davy Jones' Locker!"

"Whatever you say." Akira hummed, leaving the two men.

"So this sea wench... What did she look like?" Hide asked swallowing another bite of his breakfast.

"What did she look like?" Amon raised an eyebrow, surprised the boy actually took interest in his tale. "Well, she was massive! Legs like Kraken and twice as ugly. Only one eye on 'er. She almost ate the whole dang ship, if it weren't for cap'n Arima harpooning 'er in the head! At that point we, were dead in the water, but he somehow made 'er retreat. Not without dragging him down too. The whole struggle is how I also lost me right leg."

"I thought mermaids were supposed to be beautiful and entrancing to sailors." Hide said scraping up the rest of his egg. "You don't paint a very sexy picture. Is she the reason for your eye as well?"

"Nay, this be a stupid accident a few years ago." Amon touched his eyepatch. "One of them old city types was collect'n fish from the reef for an aquarium, er, something. Wolf Eel got snagged and wasn't to happy we caught 'em. Little buggers can bite to all hell if they want. No, I never seen something like that, even years after we lost cap'n Arima. It was if the sea erased them. And I ain't ever seen a merperson before either. Though I did hear many of the same stories in my youth as well on 'em"

"Ah, I was just curious if you knew anything on them." Hide put his utensils on his now empty plate. "My... My, uh, grandmother used to tell us stories of them, but they were always vague. I think it was to scare us into not swimming too far out in the bay."

"Aye, I do not know much on this topic." Amon nodded. "But, I'll tell ye, what I do know. The merpeople of many sea legends, are false. They are not beautiful fish women. No, they are terrifying, man eating monsters. They are said to control the very waters and can stir up a storm without warning. Very powerful beasts, and any sailor that thinks otherwise be a fool. If you are to see one, they may fool you to come closer... Then snatch you up! And eat you like dinner!"

"I... I see." Hide got up and brought his dishes to the sink Akira usually used. "Well, I should get going... That house isn't going to paint itself!"

"Aye, lad." Amon nodded taking a drink from his mug. "Be see'n ya, and watch the waves. You do not know what may lurk beneath."

* * *

 

 

As the cheezy car came to a stop, he knew something was amiss. The door to the boathouse was wide open. Also, by the strange indents in the sand, that hadn't been washed away yet leading up to the the house, his last night guest was doing some exploring.

He walked around his deck, making sure the guest wasn't there, before going inside. Everything seemed normal. Until he saw sand all over his once clean wooden floor. The trail led to the stairs, but stopped at the forth step up, before it went into his kitchen.

Once entering the kitchen, he heard a crash as his guest ripped out the utensil drawer, sending forks, spoons, and butter knives on the tiled floor. Along with the other items, he had thrown on the ground as well.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Hide yelled in surprise causing the home invader to jump, well rather flop.

"Ah!... H-human!" The fish looked sheepishly around. "Y-you weren't i-in your castle, so... I didn't think you'd mind if I searched for coverings here... S-since you won't bring me to Uniqlo."

"So you decided to destroy my kitchen?" Hide asked still upset by the mess. He noticed his favorite brand of cereal was also poured all over the floor. "Awe, man I have to go to the city for that..."

"These little crevices and holes are full of wonderful trinkets, human!" He picked up a spoon. "I have a friend that would collect shiny sells like these! And you have so many that match, he'd be so jealous! Why do you hide them?"

"Because they are for eating with. Not decoration." Hide sighed looking at the cheap utensil. "You just can't go through my things. Didn't your, uh, mom, teach you that?"

"No. I was normally too scared of her." The fish dropped the spoon, looking a bit sad. But, then he lighted up. "Human! I obviously have much to learn of your kingdom! Teach me the ways of humans!"

"Uh... Um, well first of all I have a name." Hide said in surprise of how eager the mer was to get information out of him. "It's Hide. Hideyoshi Nagachika."

"Ah! Well, I'm called Kaneki by my kind." The mer nodded in agreement. "Mother called me Ken, but I like Kaneki more."


	10. Blue Moon

Humans were amazing. Did you know they have things they call chairs? They rest on them, with their tails... No, legs, draped over the side. Since they don't have dorsal fins, which is quite a tragic way to live, chairs are easy to use.

Human legs are also very interesting. They jet out from the pelvis and replace where their tail should be. Honestly it was a mystery on how they relieve themselves of bodily wastes, but the topic seemed to be avoided. The mystery of the legs, only gets weirder, as they bend in two places. The end fins are also called feet and they have fleshy tips called toes.

Next human dens are called houses. Inside they not only rest, but do a thing called cooking. That's when they make something hot like a lava vent and warm up dead things with it. Then they eat it after it's been "cooked", so they don't get sick. Humans are delicate creatures if they need to do a certain ritual to make their meals safe. Though, some things they eat don't need this "cooking" thing, but what they eat isn't food. It just plants. Which is disgusting.

"Where are you going?" Kaneki asked the human Hide, as he started to leave the place he called "kit-chin".

"You mentioned you broke into my house because you wanted an new shirt." The human answered. "I'm going to see if I have something you can fit... Don't start throwing things around again."

"I want to come with!" Kaneki exclaimed falling to the floor, off the chair he took almost twenty minutes to get on in the first place. The difference between hard floor and sand, was his pelvic fins didn't have much to push against to help him move on land. Though he did discover he could use his tail to flop forward in small increments. Only a bit faster than just dragging himself with his pectoral fins. One day though, he hoped to master locomotion on land, in a more effective way.

"No, you stay down here." Hide the human said on the weird wooden floor that rises up in planks. Planks too thin, that Kaneki kept sliding down when he tried to go up there himself. "I don't need to clean up a mess up here too."

"I helped you hide... I mean clean up, your not-shell shell collection!" Kaneki said trying to give the human his best seal pup eyes. "I'll be good!"

"Well, I'm still not dragging a half ton fish up my stairs." Hide sighed. "You already got smelly fish slime and sand all over the main floor and the porch... I don't know how I'm going to clean that smell out..."

"I'd be like that raisen thing you told me about, if I wasn't slimy." Kaneki huffed. "That dry thing. I have to cover myself with-"

"Ah, I don't want to hear more of your freaky fish tail's functions." The human's face reddened. "I just know that it stinks and as soon as I get you a damn shirt, the less time your stink can seep into my floor boards."

"It'll keep sharks away!" Kaneki called after him, as the human disappeared from the top of these stairs.

"Land Sharks aren't real!... I hope..." Hide called back.

 

* * *

 

 

The coverings the human had offered him were stunning. So many different colours to choose from, but he settled for the blue and white one. It was so convenient not having to rip holes into the covering, as there were ones already for his pectoral fins and head. It was a bit long for his torso, ending over his hips.

"Such light coverings!" Kaneki mused over his gift, one of his shoulders peeking out of the hole where his head went through. There was blue netting running up the sides and over where his exposed shoulder was meant to be. "It's almost like I'm just being bathed by a light current!"

"Glad you like it." Hide the human smiled awkwardly. "I think my older sister left that here to cover her bathing suit, well she was down at the beach. I tired to find you stuff that wouldn't soak up a ton of water..."

"Sister..? That's a female that hatches from the same mother, right?" Kaneki asked him, and received a nod. "You humans and your tival things! I guess you'll see her again one day, on that day tell her that I'll care for this till I'm belly up!"

"I'm sure she wouldn't even remember she even bought that." The human laughed. "Now, out. The house tour is done, I don't care about the boathouse, but there is rug in here and renting a carpet cleaner this far out is expensive."

"I don't smell that bad." Kaneki pouted, dragging himself after the human to the place he called a 'deck'. Even though they had only met recently, Kaneki felt he had known this human for many seasons.

He was easy to talk to. Not formal, or inquiring that they should mate, or other mundane things his kind would bore him about. Besides the information Hide had on what adventures he had on Land, he was generally laid back and quite simple in his views of the world.

Hide, he sparked a feeling within Kaneki, that he never felt before. It was almost like Tsukiyama's singing, when Kaneki would watch him trick fish into venturing close enough to capture. But, it wasn't this human's voice that had hypnotized him. No, it was something more, and it was driving him crazy on exactly what was preventing him from swimming off to explore the world on his own.

"So, that's the Sun?" Kaneki said pointing at the reddish orange horizon. He wasn't ready to dive back into his waters. Hide seemed unsure of talking to him over the deck's railing. Truth be told, the human seemed nervous the closer he got to the waters.

"Yes, it's beautiful when it's setting like that, huh?" The human gazed at it from his position leaning on a wood pole. "One thing the bay has always had, was beautiful sunsets..."

"You must have seen it swim away like that lots of times." Kaneki sighed. "And here I was, squealing like a guppy over that not Sun... Uh, Moon?"

"The Moon can be just as beautiful as the Sun." Hide hummed. "Wait til you see a Blood Moon. It glows pinkish-red and hangs low in the sky."

"Like this colour?" Kaneki asked letting his bioluminesce glow, once the sun had almost completely disappeared into the water. The human's eyes widened.

"Tha... That's amazing!" Hide exclaimed. "Dude, your eyes are even glowing too!"

"My kind has lived long enough in the dark, that we recently could create our own light." Kaneki explained, flexing his dorsal fin. "Whether to scare away others, or just to see. Everyone's is different."

"Well, it's very nice..." The human shifted. "Yeah, it is close to what colour the Blood Moon is."

"You're scared of the water." Kaneki said looking out at the bay.

"What?" Hide asked in confusion.

"You fear you're going to drown." Kaneki hummed, before pulling up over the railing and back into the cooling waves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I wanted to update earlier, but I'm dealing with hypersomnia right now and can't stay awake more than 3 hours at a time...


	11. You knew just what I was there for

Hide didn't understand the words of the mer, who had taken up residence in the boathouse. Well, not everything he said. More like the times he'd randomly call out his fear of swimming in the bay. It wasn't as if Hide was obvious about his reluctance to go into the water. He never had a reason to go in for the full two weeks he has known the strange fish. Nor, was he ever that open to Kaneki when they would talk.

Other than weirding him out, Kaneki wasn't as vicious as Amon told him about merpeople. Mostly he be sleeping in the boathouse on the pile of nets, he had pulled off the wall. Though, sometimes Hide would notice the mer watching him from the dock. Kaneki was more interested asking questions that were difficult to explain in ways that the fish would understand, then trying to drag him into the water to drown. Though, one thing Amon got right, Kaneki was carnivorous.

Fish bones and the smell of rotten fish covered the inside of the boathouse now. To the point, Hide wondered if Kaneki took comfort in the rotting corpses he forgot in some part of the old building.

"Dude... The smell in here is reaching almost to the house." Hide stated holding his nose. "Could you not store your fish in here... Or at least clean up?"

"Hmm? I was wondering why no servants had come to take the scraps." Kaneki shrugged not looking up from the old fishing magazine from the seventies he probably found within the garbage, Hide neglected to remove before Kaneki decided the boathouse was his. "So disrespectful, I hope that you killed them off. Lazy bottom feeders scare off the more active ones."

"Kaneki, I don't have servants." Hide said bluntly causing the mer to finally look away from the magazine in confusion. "The only thing that this smell would attract, would be roaches or a class D hazmat crew... And I don't think they'd take kindly to a half fish man living in this mess."

"But, you own two cas-... Uh, houses!" Kaneki put down the magazine and flopped off of his fishnet bed. "How can you own so much territory without other fish living there too?"

"Well, uh, you see humans have a thing called property." Hide scratched the back of his head. "And we take care of that property normally by paying bills and maintaining the place ourselves. When we run out of money that keep other humans from taking the property away, the bank forecloses and sells the property to humans that have money. So having humans that are not related living in the same place isn't good, unless you can pay the bills... And to get other humans to come and clean for the owner costs money as well. It's cheaper to maintain things yourself."

"So you buy things with this money... Because you said that 'money can be exchanged for goods and services' before." Kaneki thought out loud. "But, you do not have money to have servants to maintain your cas- house... Is that right?"

"Dude, I barely have enough to buy the gas that runs the generator for the main house." Hide sighed. "Grandma's funds are almost dried up..."

"But, if you don't have money, then other humans will force you out!" Kaneki looked at him with worry. "I don't want that! I like you Hide, you haven't chased me off, you're interesting to talk too, a-and you know stuff!"

"Well, I don't know what to say..." Hide looked over at the still covered row boat. "It's an old house. Before you came along, I was just planning to clean this place up and sell it anyways to some rich city guy that wanted a thrid vaction home. That is, if my freelance art career didn't pick up any steam... The bills are cheap, sure, it's a fully paid off house that has been in my family for generations, but it's too much for a single kid like me to live in and maintain. A tiny studio apartment in the city would suit me fine, until I got a girlfriend who wanted to stay with me longer then three months. Even then, a large sea-side cabin in the middle of nowhere, isn't the most exciting place to raise any family these days."

"I... I want to help you..." Kaneki said in an almost quite voice. "I... I don't want you to leave..."

"Hmm?" Hide's gaze returned from his deeper thoughts to the sadden fish. "Why is that? Couldn't you just go back to your kingdom, you keep yammering about to me?"

"... No, I can't... I don't want to..." Kaneki looked at him with sad eyes. "If I did Eto would not ever let me leave again... That... That means she'll probably force me to mate, then kill me as soon as my fry have hatched... And if you leave here, I'll be lonely... The ocean I think, no, feel is so large, finding another human like you would be impossible."

"Oh, my heart!" Hide clenched his chest.

"Are you okay?" Kaneki asked surprised.

"Yes, but I seemed to have been struck by a 'feels harpoon'." Hide said dramatically. "Oh, how they told me mermaids were dangerous! Oh, how they told me not to listen to the beautiful words of a Siren! But, here he is, a fish after my own heart!"

"Hide?" The mer looked at him, like he grew a second head.

"Look, dude, I guess I can stay." Hide finally sighed, giving in that Kaneki wasn't understanding his humor. "But, you need to do your part for right now. As I told you, I don't have servants, and if you want me to stay and don't want to live in a mess, you have to clean this place up yourself. I'm only one person and you eat a lot of fish."

"But, how will this solve your money problem?" Kaneki asked, obviously not opposed to cleaning the boathouse. "I don't think me keeping this den from being so unfitting as it is, is going to create you money."

"Well... Grandma did mention I could go fishing, to sell what I catch in town." Hiade said sheepishly. "As you know the bay is full of fish this time of year..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Kaneki says cute things without realizing that he's being cute. :P"  
> TL;DR done by KisaTM


	12. You heard me saying a prayer for

The human was terrified of the water, Kaneki had observed. For as long as he watched him from the bay, Hide would be tense when ever he looked at the waves. He was either in his castle house or going to that loud creature, he called Cheesy.

It took Kaneki awhile to understand the Cheesy wasn't trying to eat his human friend. Only after beaching himself many times in attempts to save Hide, the human informed that you are transported by sitting inside of Cheesy and the creature didn't eat meat. With that thought in mind, he no longer wasted his time dragging himself that far up onto land. Other than, of course, to bother the human if he was feeling particularly bored.

Anyway, what concerned Kaneki more and more, was Hide's avoidance of the water. He couldn't even remember the last time the human even put his feet fins into shoreline, if he ever did at all. In the strange thin carvings, the human called Maga-scenes, there were many etchings of what looked like humans in the water. One Maga-scenes named Cal-Ender, that Hide took away from him, had many human females laying in the sand or on rocks by lots of water. They all looked happy, not scared like Hide.

So it surprised him when the human entered his temporary den uninvited asking about 'fishing', an activity Kaneki only observed from the Maga-scene he was allowed to have. He assumed this was how humans hunted in water, although it seemed to him that humans do not like meat and the skill was lost on them. But, this was the only suggestion Hide came up with so he wasn't going to get chased away from his castle home and Kaneki by extension.

Naturally Kaneki agreed to try and help Hide to catch food. Possibly who or whatever he was giving the meat to, will give him the moneys he needed to keep this bank creature away.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Kaneki asked the human for the sixth time. Hide was wearing orange 'shorts' on his leg-tails and a green vest that somehow was suppose to help him float. Kaneki wondered if the human swim bladder didn't work in the water, like his didn't work on land.

"One hundred percent!" Hide pulled on a rope that was tied to a post. The large thing that was hanging from the roof fell into the water with a splash making the floor soak in the water. He pulled of the holeless white plastic net off the object and discarded it to the back of the spear den. "Old Timmy here, was just rotting anyway. I can even park him by the dock so you don't have to duck to get in here."

"Does... Uh, Timmy, need to be fed like Cheesy?" Kaneki asked looking over Timmy. Form what he could tell it was made of the same stuff as the den. "You know that gas thing?"

"Oh, no." The human laughed. "Timmy's a row boat, it'll be awhile before I could get him an engine. By that point, I might as well just buy a whole new fishing boat."

"Okay..." Kaneki slipped into the water by Timmy. His under belly only floated three feet from the sandy bottom, making Kaneki wonder if Timmy would also dive under when they got into deeper territory. Timmy started to suddenly rock and this surprised Kaneki, almost to the point of jumping out, when he realized Hide was sitting on top of Timmy. "W-What are you doing now?"

"Well, I need to paddle Timmy out of here." Hide smiled and carefully put a stick, called an Oar, into the water. Timmy then moved forward slowly out of the den's opening.

This startled Kaneki, but he dove under to follow silently after the two.

* * *

 

  
They swam out to a fairly nice spot. Some of the fish he'd been catching to dine on, were swimming in their little schools around the area. Kaneki didn't know how many the human wanted to try catching, so he just lazily swam circles around Timmy.

"Are we going to start hunting yet?" Kaneki asked, pectoral fins under his head and his pelvic fins controlling the direction he floated in. The human had been starting at the water.

"Uh... Yeah... Hey, I was thinking..." Hide turned back to the inside of Timmy's hollow body. He pulled up a net attached to a metallic branch. "I could use this to haul the fish into Timmy, all you need to do is scare the fish into it!"

"Hide, I told you I was going to teach you how I catch my food." Kaneki leaned up from his back foat. "Not hunt for you."

"Please, Kaneki." The human now was trying to give him seal eyes. "This way is a lot faster!"

"No way!" Kaneki shook his head. Truthfully he wanted to watch Hide try to swim. he so far has only seen colourful etchings. He wanted to know how effective leg-tails were compared to his powerful tail.

"Awe come on!" The human whined, again with the seal pup eyes. "I won't get angry with you sliming up my house, my Netflix account still has a few months on it, we can watch T.V later."

"No, Hide." Kaneki started sinking into the water. He really wanted to explore the inside of Hide's castle house, but getting the human in the water was his top priority. "I want to show you how to catch food. What if, for some reason I decide to leave for awhile and you have no moneys to swim off the banks? What will you do then? No, come into the water and hunt with me!"

"I... Kan... I can't..." Hide stared intently at the calm blue water. It was clear enough to see the bottom, the deep kelp forest was only a few meters away concealing the fish schools they'd be after. The human's body was tense and Kaneki could hear Hide's heart pounding. A bit of sweat to was forming on the human as he started to pale.

"Yes you can Hide!" Kaneki dove under the water and did a few laps around Timmy. He broke the surface again and looked up at the terrified human. "There are no sharks in this water well I'm here. I don't even like shark, but they won't ever think of swimming in this bay."

"K... Kaneki... I-It's not... I just..." The human's breathing got more rapid the longer he stared at the waveless surface. Hide was scaring himself out of their hunting trip. Kaneki was so close to getting his human into the water with him, but now he scaring himself. Getting impatient, Kaneki lifted is tail and struck the side of Timmy to rock him, so Hide fell into the water. "WAAAAAHHHH!"

"Hide?!" Kaneki watched as the human flailed rapidly in the water. Splashing white waves in every direction and screaming. When he swam up to Hide, the human kicked his leg-tails into his chest. The pain and the panic almost made Kaneki drag the human with him to the ocean floor, but he resisted and managed to pin Hide's arms to his sides. "HIDE! STOP SCREAMING!"

"AAAAHHHH!" Hide was too panicked to hear Kaneki, his eye squeezed shut, still struggling to drag them both down. Without thinking Kaneki used the only thing he had free to silence the human. He put his own mouth over Hide's until the human stopped attempting to scream his ear fins off.

"Hide, look at me." Kaneki said pulling back and looking a the shocked eyes of the human. Hide had wrapped his leg-tails around Kaneki's hips and had a death grip on his pectoral fins. He was shaking and his eyes kept darting away from Kaneki. "Hide. Hide, it's okay. I got you. It's just water."

"Kan-Kaneki, d-don't d-dive." Hide held him close with his death grip. "I... If, if you, just swim closer, t-to Tim-Timmy... I t-think I c-can get b-back..."

"Hide, I told you no." Kaneki grunted, the human was determined to squeeze all of his breath out. "You learn to sink or float today."

"D-dude, please." Hide was still shaking in his hold. "W-We... I, could teach y-you chess, o-or let you h-have my mp3 p-player. Y-you like m-music right? T-there's a b-boombox some-"

"Hide." Kaneki interrupted him. "Your not going to drown. I'll make sure of it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can Kaneki teach Hide to swim? Will Timmy ever realize Cheesy's love? And is it true that Hide's Netflix subscription is really paid for three months?! Find out next time on "How Cruel is The Sea"!


	13. Someone I really could care for

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Excessive Swearing! (And Short Chapter... Sorry!)

This was hell, this, was hell, this was hell! That could all be heard through Hide's skull as that bastard fish held him moments from death. Why did he suggest fishing? With a goddamn mermaid?! Amon was right they were dangerous. At any moment Kaneki was going to dive under the water and... And that would be it! The sweet embrace of death will remove him from the murderous grip of a monster.

For Christ sake, he refused to take baths and only took short showers! Why did he think taking a dingy rotten row boat into the middle of the fucking ocean would be a good fucking idea?! This, this wasn't what he expected at all. He should have told Kaneki he could work at the freak'n gas station in town or something. Sure commissions were lacking at the moment, but it didn't mean they would have picked up right?

If this fish hadn't stuck around for the past few weeks, constantly annoying him with questions... Banjou should have took him seriously when he called the first time. It was probably Kaneki's plan all along to get him somewhere he was defenceless and easily killed. And who would know or even care that he died out there?

His divorced parents were too wrapped up in their legal matters to care for or visit any of their adult children's lives. His four older brothers where in different parts of the world chasing corporate dollars or making investments into five star venues. His older sister? She and her wife were spending their honeymoon in Fiji. No, everyone in his family might just think he's too busy for them or not even notice he was gone.

As for Shell Cove, the only people he cared to get to know was Akira and Amon. Akira has a fiancé in the city and probably just saw him as a customer more than a real friend. And well, Amon, was a crazy old sailor no one would believe if he found and took pictures of Kaneki picking his teeth with one of his bones by the boat dock!

"Hide?" The devil fish snapped him out of his thoughts. They were still floating above the water and he had laid his head into Kaneki's shoulder like and upset or tired toddler. "Could you, uh, let your leg-tails off of my lower fins? We are kind of drifting into the kelp."

"I... no, I... I'd die!" Hide choked out between sharp intakes of air and hiccups. "I'll sink!"

"No you won't." Kaneki's clawed hands had moved from his back to under his thighs. The fish then gently began to pull him up and away from his hips. In a panic Hide clawed into Kaneki's back making him huff in irritation. "Hide, you told me that vest thing your wearing will keep you a float. I'm not going anywhere, but it looks like Timmy is trying to go home without you and I can't swim like this."

Hide raised his tear stained face, sure enough the distance between them and the row boat had increased. What was really just four or five meters away, seemed like miles of open sea to him.

"Kaneki..." Hide sniffled away his thoughts. "Please g-get me back t-to the boat... I want to go home."

"I told you I need all of my lower fins to do that." Kaneki hinted that more by lifting his legs again. "Let go of me down here, and I'll bring you back over to Timmy. You don't have to let go of my top half if you don't want."

A few moments passed and Hide felt that he'd calmed down enough to let his legs fall free of the fish. The change in position caused him to gasp as he sunk lower into the water. The salty sea lapping at his neck an under chin. Before he could choke Kaneki, the fish had forced his arms so that Hide was holding onto his back. The mermaid then slowly swam over to the row boat, whether to torture Hide, or not to accidentally slam into his legs with his powerful tail, or both, Hide couldn't tell.

Once they finally made it to the row boat the kelp and seaweed were trying to wrap around his free legs. Hide clawed at the boat and nearly tipped it over, well using all of his strength to pull himself out of the watery hell. He laid int the middle of the vessel half on one of the plank seats half on the fishing supplies he had thrown into the boat before they left. The air bringing a chill as his body missed Kaneki's body heat.

"Hide?" He didn't bother to answer. Still pissed off that the fish did that and trapped in the peace of silence that followed his blinding fear. The mermaid demon look at him with sorrow filled eyes, but he knew it was fake. The bastard grabbed a rope out of the boat. "I'm going to swim Timmy home for you... Okay?"

Hide just glared at the sky. He was pass the point of caring and passed the point of talking with a monster. The boat jerked when the fish went back into the sea and slowly pulled him back to land.

Once Kaneki pushed the row boat to the dock, Hide got out and stormed off into his house. He slammed the door loudly, not even glancing at the fish. Inside he slid down to the floor and covered his face with both hands. He wanted to cry, but his tears were already one with the salt water. So he just simply rested his head on his knees and closed his eyes.

He was no longer angry at Kaneki, he was disappointed with himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do to the increased "Hide is dead" trolls and spam I am receiving, this story is going to be up under strict moderation. Starting effectively. I only do this with newer or controversial fanfictions, but I will say the "trolls" haven't won anything. This is to keep offencive material out of my comments for people who do enjoy HideKane. Of course I'm pissed off by the amount of spam and the increasing level of hostility over my OTP, but where I can handle it, others might not be able to.
> 
> This is also because I'm now receiving some lovely pictures in my comments that graphicly depict vore and other fetishes these tolls are into, that are highly inappropriate for my readers. I like fanart, but please send it to me through my official Email or Tumblr inbox for review. If these pictures are not intended to be offencive. I'm not into vore or anything, but I am willing to give constructive criticism to artists regardless of content, just my comment sections are just not the place to post them.
> 
> Thank-you for your patience and understanding! ~ KisaTheMistress (a.k.a KisaTM)


	14. And then there suddenly appeared before me

Kaneki felt terrible, his impatience had driven off his only human friend into hiding in his castle house. Now he was all alone. Timmy floated away from the dock a few times, before he decided to just tie the rope to the wood. There was so much more that he wanted to learn from Hide, he didn't want to just swim off to find that the bank creature had chase off or killed his friend.

Timmy wasn't much for conversation. Such a strange sea creature to not want to talk. It wasn't as if Kaneki planned on eating the thing.

Well he waited and thought of what he could do, he made a game of chasing the gulls that would land close to the water. When he became bored of that, he started to entice them with rotten food. When the bird came close enough, he'd jump out of the water and catch it. Bringing it down to drown in the salt water. This cruel game continued, until he realized what he was doing.

It was his impatience with these land beings, that brought them harm. Of course he wasn't going to force Hide to stay underwater like the gulls, but the simple act of forcing him into the water was enough. If the human didn't start freaking out the way he did... Well, Kaneki didn't want to think about that. Things without gills, cannot live in the sea. No matter how much you want them to.

He floated staring at the body of the last gull he drowned. He imagined that to be Hide and he felt his eyes start to sting. His heart sank within him, he was feeling just as panicked as the human was. No he doesn't want that. He wanted to swim with his friend, not kill him. But, to Hide, that was nothing short of a death sentence. He would end up like that bird.

A shiver rocked down his spine and he flared his dorsal fin along with his gills. Grabbing a net from Timmy, he quickly dove under the water. He swam on pure adrenalin to the spot where they were supposed to be fishing. The fish scattered in his presence.

If Hide didn't want to do the fishing, fine. He will.

 

* * *

 

 

The sun was setting by the time Kaneki filled his net. He put all kinds of fish inside. Some colourful, others meaty, even a few shells that he thought humans liked. He swam back to the bay, to show Hide his catch.

The lights were off in Hide's castle house. So Kaneki tired to call him, by singing.

"Oh, god what is that god-awful screeching?!" A voice said in annoyance by his boat-castle house. Seeing a light near there, Kaneki thought it was his human, His voice was a bit different, but he swam over anyway.

"Fuck, man I don't know about this..." Another voice different from the first said. Did Hide bring more humans? Maybe they'll help him bring the fish to the banks. He pulled himself up onto the dock, along with his catch. "Shh! What was that?"

"Relax, this place been abandoned for years." A laugh followed. "Or do you believe those ghost stories?"

"Hide?" Kaneki asked seeing dark figures comming out from behind his boat-castle house. A bright light shone in his eyes, causing him to squint and block it with a pectoral fin.

"Holy fuck!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short, but it builds... Something... Who are these people?!


	15. The only one my arms will ever hold

Hide woke to the sound of banging on his front door. It was early in the morning and his battery for his MP3 player had died. Groggy and a bit stuffed up from the emotions of last night, he put on an old oversize t-shirt he used as a house coat, and walked down stairs.

What he was not expecting was a camera to be shoved in his face when he opened the wooden door.

"C-can I help you?" Hide stared wide-eyed at his refection in the camera's lense.

"Chie Hori, Channel Five News!" A short mousey woman said cheerfully to him. "Mr. Nagachika, are you aware of the discovery that local boys; Sonny and Jean Bin, Naki Shimono, and Ayato Kirishima, have made on your property at 11:45 yesterday evening?"

"Naki? Who?" Hide blinked in confusion. "What are you people talking about?"

He pushed pass the reporter, before she could answer to see Banjou's police car with it's lights flashing, and a crowed of people by his boathouse. There were two other news reporters interviewing the four boys in questions.

"Hey! What going on?!" Hide yelled in a mixture of anger and confusion, of the crowd on his private property. His heart stopped when he saw Kaneki being pulled out of the water by his tail at the dock. The poor fish's claws dug deep into the wooden planks as they were raked across. He was screeching out in terror as two men brought him closer and closer to a large plexi water tank. "Kaneki!"

"Whoa, there son!" Banjou blocked Hide as he ran towards his distressed friend. "We didn't know what this thing is going to do, leave it to the professionals."

"Banjou, no! That's Kaneki!" Hide begged the man. "The person I told you about! Please stop this!"

"Hide!" Kaneki screamed out after hearing his name. He violently began thrashing and he momentarily got out of the men's grasp and tired to drag himself back over the edge of the dock.

"Oh, no, you don't!" One of the men said grabbing hold of his dorsal fin and a pelvic fin. "Feisty one, ain't he?"

"Hide help!" Kaneki screamed again tears rolling down his face. "The Banks! They are stealing me!"

"Banjou, please!" Hide yelled at the officer. "They're hurting him!"

"Nagachika, I told you to leave it to them." The large man still wouldn't let him pass. "They know what they are doing."

"Aaggh!" One of the men yelped as Kaneki had swung his body around and clamped down hard on the man's calf. The man then started hitting the fish on the dead to make him let go, but Kaneki remained latched to the leg.

"Shinohara!" The other one yelled out in surprise.

"Juuzou, g-get the spray." The man hissed out still trying to get Kaneki off his leg with out losing a sizable chunk of it. The younger of the men ran over to the tank and pulled out an aerosol can. He ran back and handed it the other, who immediately began spraying the constance point blank into Kaneki's gills. It left an orange dye behind and forced the mer to let go, making gagging sounds.

Once free and Kaneki distracted the two quickly dragged him onto the sand and into a hoist. When they strapped the still struggling mer into it, they lifted Kaneki ten feet into the air. The straps released and Kaneki hit with a splash into the seven foot plexi tank. Before he could right himself and jump out of the top, the men put a heavy lid down.

Bubbles escaped his mouth, as he was obviously screaming again. But, the tank muffled him so much, it might as well have been soundproof. He scrapped his claws against the glass and tried slamming his body against the side in attempts the knock the tank over.

Hide finally got around Banjou and ran out to the tank. He put his hands on the glass and could see the fear in his friend's eyes.

"Kaneki!" Hide yelled. "Don't worry buddy! I'll save you!"

Kaneki place his claws where Hide's hands were. It didn't seem like he could hear him, but calmed down a bit, as if he understood.

"Back away from there, boy." The older man warned. "These things will kill a man without thinking twice."

"Y-you monsters!" Hide hissed at them. "Kaneki has done nothing wrong! Who told you people you could come onto my property and-"

"That would be the Gillian Center of Containment." The man cut him off. "We research dangerous and intrusive sea life, including Oceani profunda syreni. If this thing was left here to spawn, seventy five percent of this coast's fish would have been eradicated. They are worse than sharks when it comes to attacking humans, as you could see it wasn't having much difficulty breathing air well we were fighting it. The Center will be doing a scrape to make sure none of it's eggs are left behind, later."

"Don't worry, the GCC, will make your place safe again!" The younger man cheerfully said. "Just don't go swimming for a few days, until we are sure we got all of them!"

"W-what are you going to do with him?" Hide asked worried, he really hope that they were just going to release Kaneki somewhere else and he could swim back after this chaos was over.

"We are going to take it to the Center, of course." The older said. "Run some tests, Oceani profunda syreni, are fairly rare. We see a bloom of maybe twenty individuals sometimes near the Mariana trench once every thirty to forty years. It possible the changing water temperatures had made this one travel too far with the Pacific current down south."

"Okay, and after?" Hide didn't think more than a health check or something would be too harsh on his friend.

"Well, if it holds well in captivity, we might display it for a while to the public." The younger hummed as his older partner left to start the vehicle the tank was being pulled by. "After, we'll put it down. These things have an nasty habit of returning to places it already started laying their eggs at. We can't endanger the public like that, so it's easier to kill them to discourage them from swimming right back."

"Juuzou! Let's go!" The older yelled at the younger, who quickly said goodbye and hopped into the truck.

"Don't worry Kaneki!" Hide yelled as the truck's tires started to slowly crunch in the gravelly sand. "I-I'll find away to save you!"

 

* * *

 

 

"Thank you Mrs. Toga." A male news anchor turned to the main camera. "Today, a surprising new discovery was made near the small municipality of Shell Cove, that has one owner quite irrate. A member of the identified Oceani profunda syreni, also known as the Deep Sea Mermaid, by the Gillian Center of Containment. This newest visitor to the south coast is stated to be caused from the possible rise in oceanic temperatures across the globe. Here is Chie Hori's report on the capture."

The scene flicked over to the beach house and bay.

"The residents of Shell Cove was surprised today to find last night's reports of a strange creature living in this secluded bay, five miles outside of the quiet town." Chie Hori's voice said over the images of the bay and town.

"Yeah, we, you know, we're just stopping for a bit when we heard something by the dock." A blond boy with a piece missing from his ear said. "Sonny and Jean, started screamin'."

"This thing, just screeched at us!" Another boy with dark purple-ish hair exclaimed. "I thought it was going to attack, but it just went back into the water. We are luck none of us go hurt by it. It has some very nasty looking claws and teeth!"

"The creature, Ayato Kirishima, was describing, was this." The video switched to a pink and purple tailed half fish, half human, with white hair fighting with two men that were dragging it from the dock. "A Oceani profunda syreni, commonly known as the Deep Sea Mermaid. The only confirmed species of Mermaid to exist by the Gillian Center of Containment. This creature is considered dangerous to humans and local marine life, since they are opportunistic feeders. We tried to reach out to the owner of the property, but were unable to get a direct comment."

The video changed to the reporter trying to chase down a young man wearing nothing, but an oversized t-shirt and messy blond hair running up to an officer. He was distraught and ignored them well yelling the word "Kaneki" at the two men containing the mermaid.

"We believe the owner might be suffering from 'Furor Oceani', known as Ocean Madness by sailors, from prolonged exposure to the mating calls of the captured Oceani profunda syreni." A man in a lab coat stated. "Everyone has heard the stories of sirens songs bring sailors to their deaths. We believe the mating call of this animal over a prolonged period of time can cause schizophrenia like symptoms, in previously undiagnosed patients. These include believing the animal can understand them or speak, believing the animal has formed a relationship with them, and that they must protect the interests of said animal. Many of our researchers have to go through extensive tests to make sure they are not susceptible to this type of delusional thinking, before working with these marine animals."

"The mermaid will be up in for display from August 15th to October 13th, at the Gillian Marine Life Aquarium." The reporter voice returned over video of a large cement building. "For Channel Five News, I'm Chie Hori."

"Thank-you Miss Hori, for that lovely report." The male news anchor returned. "A real mermaid. Can you imagine that, Kiyoko?"

Hide turned off his television before the female anchor could respond. He put his head in his hands in disbelief. Not only was his best friend was taken away this morning, but now everyone will think that he's crazy from some bullshit these GCC people told the media. If only he didn't freak out when Kaneki want to teach him how to swim. Maybe the fish would have stayed hidden, or he wouldn't have been listening to loud music all night, he would have caught those kids trespassing on his property.

He stood up and took in a large breath and sighed. Kaneki did nothing wrong and it was up to him to save his best bud. Even if he has to carry the fish all the way back to the bay. Even if Kaneki has to go back to where he came from and can no longer return. He was not dying in the hands of those maniacs!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Save him Hide!


	16. I heard somebody whisper "Please adore me"

Hide was right the banks are terrifying! They take anything they want if they don't get their offering of money. He didn't know it was that bad, or that the banks would look so human either. Either way he was now trapped by them.

It started when he startled a small school of humans that had wandered to close to the boat-castle-house. They had something with a very bright luminescence, that almost blinded him like the light of the real sun did. Like a portable light-not-fish Hide show him in the main house-castle had and the one just outside his boat-castle-house's human entrance. They screamed at him and he fell back into the water to get away from the brightness they had. Well he was trying to shake the bright spots from his eyes, the humans had alerted a bank.

The first bank had a Cheesy, that was white in colour and had blue and red flashes of luminescence on top of it. The bank came out in blue colours with a portable light-not-fish, amining it's brightness at him in the water. He should have swam away at that point, but he was so curious. After all the only human he knew was Hide.

He attempted to talk with them, but they backed away. They didn't leave though, so he thought they were just nervous like Hide was, when they first met. Hide himself hadn't come out to scare them away either, so he didn't think they meant any harm. This strange nervous stand off lasted until the sun started to peek over the rocks and another white Cheesy had arrived. That one was larger than the first bank's and Hide's and had water being carried with it.

More Cheesies arrived with more humans. Again, he should have swam away, but he thought that would be rude if humans really wanted to meet him. Two banks in white coverings, came onto the dock near were he was swimming. The net of fish he brought with him was now ripped open by gulls and was being eaten by small scavengers Hide called bugs. They kicked the net into the water as they knelt down. Then a smell reached him, that made his stomach growl for.

He swam up closer to see what it was and looked like a smaller net of something. Blood was seeping out of it and it smelled like a fish he never seen before, but he wanted it. The banks were holding it near the surface, and he assumed they wanted him to have it, so he reached out to it. They didn't let go, and he couldn't resist attempting to take a bite out of the yummy smelling thing. The next thing he knew, was the bank's pectoral fin-arms gabbing him around the shoulders and pulling him out of the water. He through whatever the bloody thing was away and began struggling in his panic.

The banks and humans spoke just like Hide, but they wouldn't answer him when he demanded to know what they were doing. The more they didn't answer him the more he thrashed and scratched at them and the dock. He broke free twice , but grabbed him before he could slip back into the water.

Hide finally left his castle-house and yelled for him. He wanted this all to stop, he was so sorry for trying to make Hide swim with him. Maybe this was why Hide was so scared of the water. If he went in the banks would have known about it, then they would have taken any fish they wanted. Kaneki, even if he hated to admit it, was a very meaty and the largest fish in the bay currently.

Still freaking out he bit the larger of the banks that had painfully grabbed his dorsal fin. The blood exploded in his mouth and definitely had a different taste to most fish he's eaten. The bank cried out and started to hit him. Then this horrid taste filled his gills, forcing him to let go of the bank and begin coughing, trying to get the bitter taste out.

Then suddenly he was in water again, but it wasn't his water. it felt lighter, was clearer, and their was no sand other than what had stuck to his body. There was clear rock all around him, and he could see he was on land still. He tried swimming up and escaping again, but another flat rock was above him and stopped him. Panic filed him again and he started screaming out for his human to save him. He trashed trying to knock whatever he was in over, as well.

Hide came to the clear rock and put is hand-fin on it. So he swam over and put his hand-fin in the same spot. He couldn't hear what Hide was saying, the trap muffled everything. The human looked just as panicked as he did, and one of the evil banks started to talk to his human.

The bank was smiling, probably because they got their catch. Hide though was arguing about something with them, but calmed down a bit. Kaneki hoped that he convinced them to let him go, but he turned to look back at him with a sad face. He yelled something muffled as he started to move away. Actually it was the trap that was moving, and he had to swim away from the clear rock he was looking at Hide from or he was going to be smashed against it.

It wasn't that fast as they started to move upwards. The sand slowly shifting to this weird short sea weed and more large wood kelp Hide called trees. Then there was less wood kelp, and they stopped going upwards. They moved faster then and Kaneki eventually just sat at the lowest corner of the trap, because it was getting tiring fighting the current that was created.

He stayed like that for awhile, the sights of everything moving by reminded him of Hide's T.V. thing, but all around him. Slowly though he just closed his eyes from tiredness, hoping that it all was just a bad dream.

 

* * *

 

"Four hundred and fifty-two pounds!" Kaneki woke up to find he was on a cold table thing, that was different for the one in Hide's kit-chin. There were banks around him, but he couldn't move. Cold ropes held him down. "So rare for them to be this heavy! Normally they are malnourished, boy it's been busy!"

"Fishing town, probably was eating the scraps and old chum that was being thrown off the boats." A bank moved to his trunk and began to prod the underside of his tail. He started to really try to struggle when they started pressing a cold silver stick thing near that parts of his tail, that shouldn't be poked at. He could feel his blood rushing to his face and the part the bank wouldn't leave alone, and he clenched his eyes shut. "Well, I guess we don't need to scrape for eggs. Caught ourselves a little boy it seems."

"Phfft, he says little." He could hear them laughing at him, but all he wanted to do was curl up and die. "The blood test show's he's a subspecies we haven't documented yet. It seems to be recently adapted for cave dwelling, given how long it's pelvic fins are and the luminescent markings, but it has characteristics more suited for the tropical regions, so it definitely isn't a Marie-Anna Mer or a Ningen. It's tail structure also proves it's not an Akkorokamui or a Cecaelia, though it seems to be related to the tropical regions they are commonly reported..."

"Where's H-Hide?" Kaneki finally said when he could feel his mouth and throat finally unfreeze. He want his human friend, he was so scared of what these banks were doing and he still couldn't feel the majority of his body. He just knew he was cold, exposed, and didn't want to be there any longer.

"It's vocalizing again." One of the banks said to the other. "Should we put it under again?"

"Nah, more anastasia might kill him at this stage." The other sighed. "The nerve relaxer should be wearing off about now. Is the tank ready?"

"It should be, last I heard they were balancing the ph levels for the secondaries." The first bank replied. "I'll call the divers to see if they are done and get him."

"Good, I'll inform the staff of the results." The second patted his trunk, which Kaneki weakly tried to smack the bank's hand-fin with his pelvic fin. "If he holds up well, after the exhibit, we can look into adding it to Mr. Washuu's brat's collection. The kid's been bitching and moaning for something new, since he accidently killed that Kappa we gave him a few months ago."

"If he wanted these damn things as pets, he should learn to care for them." The first grumbled as they moved away from him. "He's killed so many of them from neglect..."

The banks had left him as the room-cave was quite, just the sound of the water that he finally noticed that was being pumped into his gills, filled the empty air. He stared up at the white fake sun that loomed over him. His breathing hitched and he could feel his face start to become wet.

"I want to go home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sleepy, but I'm posting this today! No more napping on it! :P


	17. And when I looked the moon had turned to gold

Hide was frantically searching frantically over the internet for the location of the GCC. It was located at least fifty miles inland in a city known as Whaler. The Google images, showed basically what the TV did of the building. There were a few select photos of the inside of the building, but mostly of "first world anarchists" posing in front of pictures of signs that prohibited use of cameras and official pictures taken by the facility for post cards.

Creatures more bizarre than Kaneki, were features in a few. Though they seemed to be just stuffed museum pieces. The aquariums all had regular fish from what he could tell, that a regular aquarium should have.

Wikipedia and the official wiki more or less just described the place as a research center for exotic and rare marine life. It was currently owned and funded by the Washuu Company. There was little to no information on the parent company, other than the family was very rich.

With his target, Hide packed some clothing for the trip and took what little cash he had. After putting his things in Cheesy, he suddenly stopped. The adrenaline finally leaving him with his thoughts of reality. Kaneki was a five hundred fish person, that starts secreting a smelly oily slime if he's out of the water longer than fifteen minutes. How the hell was Hide, a one hundred and ninety pound, six foot twenty two year old, going to stuff a five hundred pound, three and a half meter fish man into his rusted out, at the end of it's life, orange ford?

He sat in his car mulling over the thoughts. Well, it was funny to imagine him squeezing his friend into Cheesy, just like the fish begged him to do one day, it wasn't going to happen. He wasn't going to tie Kaneki to the roof, like he did with his matress coming down to the beach house. That would be even more traumatic than a tank, and Cheesy barely had it in her to make it up the hill without whining about it.

He started up the old car listening to the shifter grind in it's unhealthy way. He needed advice, and hopefully a better way to transport Kaneki back home. It was his fault that Kaneki was in this mess, and it's his job to fix it.

* * *

 

"No." The grizzled sea dog said hobbling to his favorite bar stool and ordered his usual rye.

"Amon, please!" The young land-legged lad begged him again for the tenth time since he entered the tavern. "Kaneki did nothing to deserve this! He wasn't doing anything, but teaching me how to swim!"

"Boy, yer fish be taken to a place they study the sea demons." Amon scratched his grisled beard. "He be taken with the best these land lovers, have to care for 'im. If he be out in the sea, he could kill twenty men just as that sea wench did all those years ago. He's better off in that place, then the end of a harpoon don't ye think?"

"Kaneki is harmless." The boy insisted. "He was with me for weeks and not once tried to eat me or destroy my stuff... Well, not intentionally that is. He's a very kind person, just curious is all."

"Eye, seems the water terror has smitten yer heart." Amon sighed. "Capt'n Arima was once like you... That night cost me, me leg, as I told you. I'm telling you boy, leave that fish to the professionals. Love'n a fish, will just end in tragedy."

"Amon, give the kid a break." Akira scolded the old salty sailor. "He just lost his best friend. Look hon, if your looking for a ride to go see him at the exhibit, I can take you. Sediou is busy that weekend and I'd just be stuck in here. The staff can tell you how your little fish friend is doing and it might make you feel better to know that they are equipped to care for him."

"Kaneki needs the ocean, not a tiny tank." Hide huffed. Before reminding himself that Cheesy probably couldn't make it there and back. Moving to Shell Cove was technically her last big trip. "Fine, your right... I'm just very worried the he's being mistreated. He probably scared too. Thanks for offering."

"No problem hun." Akira smiled. "Don't worry too much about it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, sorry for the long awaited update. Some really shitty IRL stuff is happening to me right now, so all of my fictions are on hold well I'm dealing with this. Sorry for the inconvenience!


	18. When life gets you down

The banks came back after a while wearing thick metallic netting. Kaneki was already feeling tired over the traumatizing experiences he already had, didn't struggle much when they picked him up. They moved from the bight cave to another with items scattered around a large pool of bright blue water.

He began to flex his fins ready to enter the pool since his scales were becoming so dry at that point that he felt kind of sticky and the joints in his fins started to feel brittle. The banks holding him reacted by moving quicker. Maybe they thought he was going to bite one of them again. He didn't want that nasty orange stuff sprayed in his gills again.

Kaneki gasped in large gulps of the cool water, when they threw him into the pool with a large splash. Before the bubbles dispersed he swam away only to smack into a invisible wall. After hitting more invisible walls he quickly learned that he was confined to a small part of this cave pool. All he could see out from where he found the invisible barrier, was darkness and blue lights with dark smudges that he assumed to be other fish swimming in them.

He wondered what kind of magics the banks were using to create these large isolated pools. No wonder Hide was so scared of them, they were powerful beings. Even if they looked like his human friend.

As he gazed out into the darkness trying to get his eyes to adjust despite the intense blue reflective light coming from the pool, he could barely make out shapes of banks moving around. Since banks seemed to be air breathers like Hide, he wondered if like him , also had gills to be moving around in that pitch black water. His eyes looked to the sandy floor, or rather the colourful small rocks that covered the ground, where the light cast onto some smooth white stone beyond the barrier.

A wide eyed bank with white hair was looking up at him. It was a small one, and he recognized the bank as the one that was talking to Hide. His first reaction was to swim at full charge at the barrier, to brake through and kill that little monster for taking him away from his home. But, instead he kicked up some bubbles and swam to hide in the coral and semi-dark mini-caves that were carved into the rock in the center of the pool.

Finally he settled on the multi-coloured rocks and sand that lay on the bottom of the isolated pool. He carefully watched the white haired bank, confident that he was hidden enough from their view. Another bank shown up, larger than the white haired one, and said something to the smaller. The magic barrier made his words too muffled from the distance Kaneki was laying. They both left soon after, the smaller bank seemingly reluctant to do so.

The light that filled the pool suddenly was gone and it was as dark as his kingdom was in places were the bioluminescent plants didn't grow. Some of the seaweed and corals gave off a faint light, which was unnatural for them to do.

Waiting to make sure a bank wouldn't suddenly swim by and attack him, Kaneki let his own glow faintly light his surroundings. The barrier had a reflection he finally noticed with his pinkish light. He could almost see himself, which startled him at first. Though the first time he seen his reflection was when he wandered into Hide's so called bathing room, where there was a tiny pool of water inside a thick white shell. There was another large shell attached to the wall higher up and above that was a thing Hide called a 'me-oar'. 

The me-oar had another being with white hair staring back at him with Hide standing behind them, but Hide was also standing behind Kaneki. He freaked out asking Hide who the other of his kind was and how he was able to stand in two places at once. Kaneki thought that Hide was some kind of magical being, like a wizard or fairy or something, and demanded his reflection to tell him what was going on. Flaring out his fins in anger as his reflection copied him, thinking it was mocking his intelligence.

Before he could destroy Hide's me-oar, the human told him to calm down and explained that the other creature was Kaneki. It was a reflection. Hide had a difficult time explaining exactly what a reflection was or worked, but his simple description was enough for Kaneki to get that the creature staring back at him was himself. He didn't realise how tattered his ear fins had became or just how many scares Jason had left him from his youth, until he saw himself for the first time. He wondered what he looked like before.

Anyway, the reflection he saw now was heavily shadowed and made him look way more intimidating. You couldn't make out the red scales that quickly faded into a peachy pale colour, or his eyes looked completely black the silver-white irises not reflecting even with the pink glowing scales that lined just above his cheek bones. It looked like two hollow holes, along with a vague black shape of his body, only outlined by tendril like pink neon traveling around his tail and on his upper body. The scales of his fins being the most noticeable.

The reflection looked like a monster to him in this poor lighting and reflective barrier. The magic probably distorting his features. Surely he wasn't this scary when he live in his old castle. None of his subjects had this demonic look about them... Then again none glowed a dark pink either, mostly various shades of blue or purple.

As he stared another face appeared before him. It was a pale faced bank, with dark eyes that looked eviler than his distorted reflection, and a manic grin that sent a feeling of dread through his body. He stopped glowing and swam a way in terror, clumsily hitting into rock trying to get back into his hiding spot in the dark.

He was going to have nightmares of what he just witnessed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who?
> 
> Also I think this and RB will be the last Fanfictions I do for Tokyo Ghoul, unless I get a request for one shots. My IRL is way too busy for me to do more than occasional redraw on tumblr. Since I just got the nerve to polish my DP fictions and finally post/share them after a decade, I'm already pulling for time I don't have to waste. Adulting is hard and from what I learned, patience is a rare and fleeting thing for most people in the adult world... Only if the world took 48 hours a day than 24, then maybe I'd have the time and energy to meet everyone's demands...


	19. You know what you gotta do?

Akira did as she promised, and drove Hide on the opening day of Kaneki's exhibit, to the Center. It was huge, filled with many tanks of exotic fish. There was even a glass tunnel through one of the giant tanks.

Akira wasn't very interested in the fish herself. Instead after booking Hide's hotel that was close to the center, she left to the next city to meet up with Sediou. She promised to give HIde a ride back if he hadn't taken the bus home, after he had gotten over his fishy friend.

Hide moved quickly towards the tank Kaneki was supposed to be contained in. There was a small crowd staring at the tank. It was full of plants and places Kaneki could hide himself in, so naturally there were a few children and adults whining about not being able to see him. There were a few sparse fish swimming around in the plants, nothing big enough that Kaneki would find interesting enough to eat. Then a diver entered the exhibit, possibly to coax Kaneki out of hiding.

The diver held a bleeding cod's head and swam around a particular plant crowded cave. The fake plants seemed to have been moved from their original positions. Eventually the diver got what he wanted. Kaneki's arm reached out of the imitation foliage and tried to grab the large fish head. The diver swam back away, and the crowd watched carefully. Mothers whispering to their previously whining kids to watch what was happening. After a few more attempts, Kaneki stuck his head out to look at the diver, annoyed that they were teasing him. A gasp from the crowd of how human Kaneki looked. He was deep within the uncanny valley and a few onlookers made this known with rude comments.

More and more humans began to break the silence as Kaneki started to leave his temporary den, to chase after the annoying diver. His scales were not as bright as they were back home. His fins looked even more tattered and he looked so very tired. He stopped chasing the diver when he noticed the crowd of humans. His dull gray eyes clouded with sadness, until he seemed to spot Hide standing as far as the red rope let him to the tank. Kaneki's eyes widened and he swam towards the crowd.

There was a thud, as he hit the glass, probably for geting it was there. The crowd yelped, as Kaneki continued to test the glass. He swam down to the corner of the tank, closest to Hide and began to whack the glass hard with his tail.

Security guards soon appeared and ushered everyone away. Stating that the crowd was stressing out the fish and to move on. Hide refused to move, he wanted to jump through that glass and hug his sea buddy, never letting go again. He would be Kaneki's legs on land, if it met taking him away from this horrible place.

"Son, move tot he next exibit." A guard with white hair, said putting his hand on Hide's shoulder. "Your agitating the young prince... Er, the fish."

"Why did you call him a prince?" Hide asked wanting to stall as long as possible.

"It's been a long day..." The man said, the lights refelcting off of his glasses to obscure his eyes.

"It's only eight thirty." Hide pointed out, and the man shifted uncomfortably. "Anyway, you don't understand. That's Kaneki! My best friend, I promised that I would save him, it's been months since I've last saw him!"

The man glaced around, his co-workers had already left to watch other crowds. He took a momnet to think, before sighing.

"Look kid... I too made a mistake of falling for one of these..." He glanced over at Kaneki who would have been crying maybe if it wasn't for the saltwater he was in. "A long time ago... But, it's best not to get so attached. These creatures are dangrous."

"Will you help me free him, if I told you he would never return?" Hide asked also looking at Kaneki. "All I need to do is get him back into the water and he will return home, never to bother humans again."

"Come to the office." The guard stated and turned away. "We have things to talk about first..."

"Don't worry Kaneki." Hide said to the soundproof tank. "I'll bring you home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the short chapter and the absence. For the last few months, I've been fighting with my father until I had finally decided to go "No Contact" with him. I'm really trying to get myself in gear and go to school, but he was running me around with bullsh*t, trying to steal my Trust Fund for himself. (He didn't know I got wise and found he technically couldn't do that without my written consent as the beneficiary of the Trust, which I wasn't going to do.)
> 
> My second excuse, is that I'm slowly dropping Tokyo Ghoul Re:. Not because of the recent chapters, it's just my interests have shifted back to Danny Phantom and Invader Zim, since both creators of these series have been hinting at possible reboots/continuations. Such as Invader Zim getting a movie in 2018 and Danny Phantom's creator starting to come up with new pitches for the show. (Also, Invader Zim Comics have brought me life, because I see so much of myself in Zim. Ie: Always trying to please others that don't care, plans always failing, getting distracted by other things in life, being surrounded by idiotic humans, making poor decisions, etc.)
> 
> I want to apologise, for being slow with updating. I know some people are very disappointed and wanted/need some HideKane cuteness and fluff, after the last chapters of TG Re:. I voiced my opinions on them a long time ago and dealt with the hostilities that came with it. But, I also couldn't find any passions or that "spark" that originally made me want to write fanfiction for TG. The other two series I mentioned, I've been with for over a decade (one almost 2 decades), TG isn't as bound to my heart as them, so I'm no longer excited/obsessed with it. Through in the ship wars and personal attacks and, my motivations are almost dead. 
> 
> I said before, this and one other Fanfic will be my last for TG, and I will complete them. I will, I just don't want my quality to get too watered down. (Get it? 'Cause this is a mermaid AU? :P)


End file.
